So cold they’re not eating

[DucksOhio]

So this morning it’s -3F. I know a lot of you have colder temps than that, but this is a first for me with ducks...it’s never been this cold. They’re not accumulated to the negative temperatures. This time of year we’re usually between 12F low to 25F high.

This morning I brought their lukewarm water ins the barn with food, peas, mealworms and kale. Normally they run out from the “duck bedroom“ in the back of the barn to greedily eat. This morning they won’t come out.

They look fine, are vocal. They only have a small poultry safe flat heater in their bedroom (6’ x 10’ x 8’) that really doesn’t generate a lot of heat.

There’s plenty of dry straw and no drafts. I’m praying it warms up a bit today. This week has been brutal!

 

[3bird]

Maybe try in a little bit. On very cold mornings, our guys are sometimes reluctant to come out at first. I just go about the chores talking to them the whole time, and eventually they make their way down for breakfast.

 

[21hens-incharge]

Mine did that when we were brutally cold. If you recall my thread about going into the negative 18 range. They eventually came out and ate around 2 pm.

 

[Miss Lydia]

We’re only 18 this morning an my Runners stuck their heads out and went back to bed. They’ll eventually come out to eat so will yours they aren’t going to starve themselves. If it got into negatives I’d put the small kiddy pool in the coop and put food an water inside to keep them from trashing the coop.

 

[DucksOhio]

Weather channel says it's going to warm up slightly today ... maybe all the way to 20F. (Yippee!)

Sure seems like a long cold relentless winter this year. Can’t wait for a bit of a thaw for the duckies.

 

[thelittlegraybarn]

It was -15 here this morning and I didn't want to come out of the house. Similar concept, give them some time and they will figure it out.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I know it’s been rough on many this winter. We have had our share and some nice days too so can’t complain. Now we know why wild birds fly south. They don’t like the cold either!

 

[Majorbleepbleep]

My girls (and one guy) are the same. They don't eat until it warms up a little bit. Well, when the high is -7°, it's a number of hours before they decide they want to begin picking at the food bowl.
Even the morning mealworm scoop I throw into the water dish seems to be unfavored until later in the day.

 

[KaleIAm]

Let us know how they do later.

 

[DucksOhio]

Let us know how they do later.

Well, it warmed up to 21F (yippee!), so when I went to clean their barn, I filled up the outdoor kiddie pool with lukewarm water, and encouraged them to go out. I put some dry used straw around the barn so the snow wouldnt be too cold. They really enjoyed that! They had been inside for days.

I think they ate SOME of their morning food, but it had clearly frozen. They did eat the kale.

They went back inside recently and had their traditional buffet. They seemed to be chowing down, phew.